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Buster Posey is a two-time champion that signed a contract extension with the NL Bay Area franchise, that will see him make $164 MIL from 2013 – 2021. Will he be able to play the duration of his contract as a backstopper – or will he eventually be moved to 1st Base? The 27 Year Old was selected 5th overall by the team in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.

With the latest signings (by Baltimore) of Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez, there is now just 3 Free Agents who come with the price tag of your 1st RD pick (or 1st available pick if you have been busy already this winter).

SS Stephen Drew is still on the open market despite several rumors about the Big Apple, DH/1B Kendrys Morales is on the board, with teams dwindling in interest, and SP Ervin Santana rounds out the list.

Agents of these gentlemen are now threatening to hold out their players until after the MLB Amateur Draft (when the Draft Pick is no longer forfeited), in order to turn the leverage back to their guys.

I am not sure that is such a great idea, particularly in the cases of the hitters, who are not likely to warrant more than 3 year deals apiece. Read the rest of this entry →

Grant Balfour has recently been throwing verbal jabs to the Orioles on XM Radio concerning the club bowing out of his 2 YRs/$15 MIL deal – and justifiably so. The Orioles lost credibility around the league for this bow out maneuver. Now Balfour will look to administer some payback to the O’s 19 times a year for the 2014 and 2015 campaings. The Aussie just signed a 2 Year Deal – to return to the Rays for $12 MIL.

The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2012, however 2013 will see the team have a losing record, and a bunch of question marks will soon follow with some impending Free Agents. The game has changed in the NL West, with the Dodgers hoarding a Team Salary in the $230 MIL a year range for the next several seasons. The Giants have to spend the money to compete. They have the resources, hold one the best attendances in the National League, and have the consensus #1 Ballpark in the Major Leagues when voted among the others. Regardless of the money spent or not, the management team will have to work more diligently than ever.

The Giants have won 2 of the last 3 World Series Titles. The club was built heavily on Starting Pitching that was drafted, however Brian Sabean has finagled the salary of the team to supplement the offense.

Great acquisitions such as Angel Pagan, Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro joined the club last season – to help bolster the offense.

The team has had lots of hometgrown products grow up and become money players like Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Linceum.

The club will have to make some decisions in the offseason, as Hunter Pence, Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum all become Free Agents. with that being said, their heavy dollar contracts also free up a lot of cash to replenish the team.

For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the GIants Organization clickhere.

The Giants did not have a great month of June, but I don’t have to tell you that. In fact, it was the worst winning percentage for the team in a month since July 2008, according to Andrew Baggarly.

This does not put the Giants out of contention, though, and the team still plans on competing this season.

With that in mind, the club does not have very much depth in their farm system, and likely do not want to give up the little potential that they have their, so the best way to boost the lineup would be through callups.

Coming off of the 2012 World Series victory, the Giants haven’t really done much this offseason. Either way every team in the league is going to be trying to take them down. When you’re the Champion of all of baseball, what team wouldn’t be gunning for you? Their biggest contest is going to be their rivals in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team has made more moves since August than you can count. The Giants realize what a great team they have and how little moves they made have shown they are confident in what they can do in 2013.

The possibly most important move they have made is resigning the Second-Half-hero Marco Scutaro. His 3 yr./$20,000,000 deal is a great deal for San Francisco. After what he did the Giants probably would have considered paying more for Scutaro. You just can’t match .500 AVG in the NLCS. This man was the definition of clutch for the club. Other very important deals include Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, and Jeremy Affeldt. Pence, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline from the Phillies, was a huge reason the Giants even made it past the NLDS. His inspirational speeches got the entire squad ready before every game. Him resigning for a 1 YR./$13,800,000 deal was huge for him and the Giants. The team gets to utilize his skills for another year – while he gets to prove he’s worth more come next winter.

San Francisco Giants: 2012 World Series Highlights. Mature lyrics- parental guidance is advised:

Without Marco Scutaro during the second half of the 2012 season – who knows if the Giants would’ve gone nearly as far as they did. He hit a very impressive .362 after joining the Giants in July. He hit a new NLCS record .500 versus the Cards last year. Resigning him was definitely a priority for the Giants so signing him through 2015 on a 3 YR/$20,000,000 was huge for both sides of the deal.

Coming off of the 2012 World Series victory, the Giants haven’t really done much this offseason. Either way every team in the league is going to be trying to take them down. When you’re the Champion of all of baseball, what team wouldn’t be gunning for you? Their biggest contest is going to be their rivals in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team has made more moves since August than you can count. The Giants realize what a great team they have and how little moves they made have shown they are confident in what they can do in 2013.

The possibly most important move they have made is resigning the Second-Half-hero Marco Scutaro. His 3 yr./$20,000,000 deal is a great deal for San Francisco. After what he did the Giants probably would have considered paying more for Scutaro. You just can’t match .500 AVG in the NLCS. This man was the definition of clutch for the club. Other very important deals include Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, and Jeremy Affeldt. Pence, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline from the Phillies, was a huge reason the Giants even made it past the NLDS. His inspirational speeches got the entire squad ready before every game. Him resigning for a 1 YR./$13,800,000 deal was huge for him and the Giants. The team gets to utilize his skills for another year – while he gets to prove he’s worth more come next winter.

San Francisco Giants: 2012 World Series Highlights. Mature lyrics- parental guidance is advised:

Torres (right) did not enjoy his time as a Met hitting only .230 with a .327 OBP in 132 games. He was done in New York after just one year as they decided not to tender him by the November 30 Deadline – making him a Free Agent.

The Giants’ offseason thus far hasn’t been very exciting from most fans point-of-views. They haven’t made any blockbuster moves. Actually they haven’t made any new moves at all. They resigned the second half hero, Marco Scutaro. They resigned Centerfielder Angel Pagan. They also resigned one of their star pitchers in the bullpen Jeremy Affeldt. The 2013 is going to shape up to be essentially the same exact team as the 2012 World Champions. One new addition to the team? He’s a familiar face actually and was on the 2010 World Series Champions team.

On December 13, 2012, the Giants resigned Outfielder Andres Torres. Torres was a key contributor in the 2010 World Series run with a .268 BA and a .343 OBP. He hit (.350 in the NLCS) and .318 in the 2010 World Series,. He was very reliable in the outfield, playing all 3 positions as he had a very impressive .997 Fld% throughout the 2010 campaign.

Andres Torres Triple Against Jon Garland (Padres) 2010:

Torres as a member of the Giants in 2009. He hit for an Average of .253 in his 3 years as a Giant.

After a disappointing 2011 season in San Francisco, the Giants shipped him off to the New York Mets in exchange for Angel Pagan. The deal clearly worked in the Giants favor as Pagan was giant in the World Series run. As he was tearing it up in San Francisco, Torres struggled big time. He hit .230 with a .327 OBP in 132 games. He had a very sub-par season this summer as a part of the Mets.

When the Mets decided not to offer Torres a contract on November 30 – he had plenty of options. Although more than enough teams were showing interest, he displayed his intent to sign with the Giants from day 1.

“No disrespect to [the other teams], but I told my agents that I wanted to play for the Giants. My heart was there. The Giants were the team that gave me an opportunity.”

Torres reportedly signed for the “low” salary of 1 Year/ 2 Million Dollars. He likely got higher offers from other contending teams but San Francisco is where he wanted to participate in 2013.

The playing time is going to be very limited in San Francisco for Torres. The Giants have a set outfield. Blanco in Left Field, Pagan in Center Field, and Pence in Right Field. Torres is likely going to be playing when one of those guys needs an off day. He may also be in the lineup against Left-Handed Pitchers as the Giants have been looking for a Right-Handed Batter, or switch hitter, to replace Blanco.

Torres was a great signing for the Giants because of a few reasons. First, the Giants needed that player to replace Blanco in the lineup. Second, the Giants weren’t looking to spend a large sum of money this offseason. 2 Million Dollars is not a huge amount of money. It’s perfect because Torres knew that he was not going to be making the big bills next year. His disappointing season as a Met basically told him he wasn’t worth a lot of money. Plus he was willing to take any amount of money from the Giants just in order to be a part of the club.

Back through 2009-2011, Torres made himself a fan-favorite among the San Francisco faithful. Instead of signing Shane Victorino for a huge amount of money, they ultimately chose Torres. Fans hate Shane Victorino. For one he’s a dirty player in general. Giants specific fans mostly hate him because of that brawl that happened on August 5, 2011. I went to the game the next day on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I’ve never heard louder boos. I’ve been to Red Sox vs Yankees games and the Sox game against the Rays after Luke Scott made those comments about Fenway Park. Those boos to Victorino were by far the loudest. Giants fans hate this man. There is no doubt they would take a lousy fan favorite over a hated, overrated, and dirty player.

With Torres knowing he wasn’t going to be a starter in 2013 – he just wanted to go where he knows he will have fun playing. There’s not a prayer he starts the majority of the games next year unless injury occurs. He is just happy to have another opportunity to bring home another ring while playing in San Francisco.

Andres Torres (right) strongly expressed his interest in coming back to San Francisco in 2013. He was big in their World Series Championship in 2010 hitting .350 in the NLCS and .318 in the World Series.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

Welcome to our newest Baseball Intern: Kyle Holland:

Kyle is alife long baseball fan outside of Boston. He is a sophomore in high school has played baseball since he was 5. Although growing up in one of the best baseball towns in the major leagues, he has been a Giants fan since 2009. He credits his aunt with the Giants being his favorite team as she lives in San Francisco. Some of his favorite players include Buster Posey, Stephen Drew, Trevor Bauer, Stephen Strasburg, and Minor leaguer Danny Hultzen. You can find Kyle on TwitterFollow @TheKHolland13.

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There’s no question that the San Francisco Giants have been one of the best teams in the MLB in recent years. This includes 2 World Series championships in 2010 and 2012. Without an injury to Buster Posey in 2011, we could be talking about a three-peat right now. 2012 was without a doubt the greater year between 2010 and 2012 making sure they would have a spot in October baseball. In 2010, they cut it close by not clinching the NL West until Game 162. This year, they wasted no time at all as they took out the Dodgers by clinching the Division on September 2nd. When they were in the playoffs, they won won 6 straight elimination games during the NLDS and NLCS, versus the Reds and Cardinals respectively, erasing 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. The Giants then swept Detroit on their way to their second World Series ring in 3 Years.

Now the question all Giants fans are asking: What is needed for the Giants to have the possibility to repeat in 2013?

So far the Giants have done a lot this winter. That all but means you’ll see a different 9 guys on the field opening day. Right now it looks like it may be the same 9 that started game 4 of the World Series. The Giants haven’t really made any changes so far. They have resigned their 2 Major Free Agents, Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan. They even resigned their major pitching Free Agent, Jeremy Affeldt. Their projected 25 Man Roster is going to be a tough one to take down in the NL West. Even with he Dodgers looking to eclipse the 250 Million Dollar Mark in Payroll, the Giants should still make a push for the Division in 2013

First, let’s look at their starting pitching. It’s not going to change much besides the order. You can expect Matt Cain to be taking the bump when the Giants open up on the road against the Dodgers on April 1st. Cain was their ace in 2012. He led the team in Wins (16) ERA (2.79) and SO (193). He also got the W in-Game #5 of the NLDS, Game 7 of the NLCS, and he started Game 4 of the World Series. His most memorable moment of the 2012 season was a Perfect Game against the Houston Astros on June 14. Read the rest of this entry →

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- It has been a crazy month in which teams have stockpiled some heavy talent at the trade deadline to get ready for the playoffs. Amongst the biggest gainers for the rankings this month were: the Athletics, Reds, Braves, Tigers, Dodgers (because of the deals) and Mariners while the Mets, Red Sox, Indians and Royals saw brutal months all but seal their playoff fates. I do think that Boston has a punchers chance but that all is dependent on David Ortiz returning to the lineup swiftly. The power of the best teams is definitely leaning to the National League right now where several teams are playing great baseball. With one-third of the season left we are all in for a treat as baseball fans.

I will have one more regular season Power Rankings month of September (to be posted on Labor Day Weekend,) before I also provide a playoff style ranking of the 1-10 seeds right before the Wild Card Teams play the play in game. It certainly has been awesome to follow how the trade deadline has effected the Monthly Rankings this time around. I think it is safe to say that this years deadline provided more interest and following-from even the casual fan more than any other year before. I also believe that the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline is now the best Trade Deadline in all of sports. Social Media has a lot to do with this but so does parity. The 2nd Wild Card spot has also created more teams willing to trade prospects in lieu of going for it. Read the rest of this entry →

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you a monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few verses for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts.

May Power Rankings

Texas (19-10) Josh Hamilton is clubbing the ball at his 2010 like AL MVP clip. Yu Darvish appears to be the real deal. Mike Napoli hits 8th on most nights. Michael Young might be the most under-appreciated hitter in the last decade. Ian Kinsler is on pace for 162 runs. If Nelson Cruz starts hitting and or Nathan rounds into form, than this team may blitz by every one.

Tampa Bay (19-10) The pitching staff is incredible right now. David Price is asserting himself as one of the premier left-handed pitchers in baseball. Strong starts from Evan Longoria, Luke Scott and Carlos Pena have helped. Joe Maddon may be the best ‘in-game manager’ of baseball now with Tony La Russa out of the Majors.

Atlanta (18-12) The reason I have Atlanta rated so high is they are not even having a good year from Tim Hudson yet and Jair Jurrjens has been atrocious. Still they sit near the top of the standings. Chipper Jones has 21 RBI and Freddie Freeman has taken the next step so far with 26 RBI. Last year the team had a lot of players with career worst years and they were only eliminated on the last day of the season. This year may be different.

St. Louis (18-11) You lose a franchise player like Albert Pujols and you spend half the money for Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal, who are finally hitting the numbers like the back of their bubble gum cards from 5 years ago. Are we giving enough credit to Mark McGwire here? Lance Lynn has morphed into Chris Carpenter with his 6-0 start.

LA Dodgers (19-10) Matt Kemp is the best player in baseball right now and may walk away with the triple crown this year. Andre Ethier has matured into the RBI guy he needs to be. Solid pitching by Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly have this team looking solid. Dodgers look good in the future when the new ownership takes over. (more…)

Like this:

The NY Mets Tribute to the Recent Passing of MCA from The Beastie Boys

Lori Martini(Baseball Writer and @lorimartini on Twitter)– We don’t always remember exactly when certain events have happened in our lives and at what ages, but baseball and music gives us a pretty good reference and timeline as to when certain occurrences took place. It’s no wonder music plays such an integral part in baseball and throughout sports. Being a songwriter myself and having been honored that Justin Turner chose my song “Believe” as his walk-up song all last summer, I can only hope some day more players will walk up to more songs that I continue to write. I remember Derek Bell walked up to “Big Pimpin’” by Jay-Z. I can automatically tell you that the song was released in 2000 and that is when Bell played for the Mets. In fact, I’m such a huge Mets fan that I don’t even have to look at the scoreboard or the plate- I’ll instantly know which player is up to bat or who came in for a pitching change just based on their music choice.

When I started my ballpark chasing in 2000, I followed the Mets to most of the stadiums. I would meet new friends on the road including one of my best friends, Gabriel Lee who not only shares the same birthday (month/day AND year), but he also has a passion for music and manages a band called Ceasefire in LA. I met Gabriel through Rachel (Roa) Apodaca who inadvertently met my friend Indira who I’ve know from Midwood High School and is a fellow lunatic Mets fan like myself in a baseball chat room. I’d go to games with friends and start singing the Mets walk-up songs when they were on the road. I had Rachel and her sister Kristen involved in the whole ordeal when my team was playing against theirs! Gabriel also had a friend, Ted who joined us at Mets vs. Dodger games in LA. Being that I was older I quickly noticed that Ted liked Rachel and I told her that. She didn’t believe me at first, but shortly after they started dating and now they’re married and have a daughter Brianna who is now as big a fan as us (and has a HUGE crush on Matt Kemp….ssshhh). Brianna met him so often that he knows who she is. She even plays softball and wants to be a catcher like Mike Piazza.

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The Sully Baseball In Memoriam For Players Who Passed From 2014 ASG – 2015 ASG

Chuck Booth’s 217 MLB Game 30 Parks Road Trip In 2015: Seeing at least 1 game per day in all days of MLB action

215 - 220 Games is roughly 9 percent of the entire MLB schedule, for upcoming games, click the picture

The Sports Legacy Institute Link For Donation Towards Concussion Research

This is the Charity Designated for by Chuck Booth on his year long trek. As a survivor of multiple concussions himself, this is a great cause. A pioneering institute that is looking to solve the concussion crisis in today's society. There is education, policy and research that will benefit from your $ Click the logo and make a contribution to the fight

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Tommy John Surgery All – Time Tracker Page

Tommy John Surgery Tracker History 4 all players who have gone under the knife ever Page plus 2014 Updates - click picture

Interleague Master Schedule + Results 2015

American League Leads 2015 series 117 - 106 (.525), AL Leads all time series 2470 - 2232 (.526)

The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

Chuck Booth’s 30 MLB Parks Trip World Record Page

In 2012, Chuck Booth attended a complete game in all 30 MLB Parks in just 23 calendar days, click the image of he and Larry Lucchino to read all about it.

Official shirt for the 183 in 2015 road trip, we have shirts for sale for shipping Apr.19, 2015 (PAYPAL or MONEY ORDER only) with the proceeds going to the Sports Legacy Institute. Email us - mlbreports@gmail.com or click link to see more of the shirt.

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The Best Website Out There To Plan Road Trips for any of the 30 MLB Parks

Here are today’s minor league transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post… Chris Capuano has accepted his outright assignment from the Yankees and reported to Triple-A, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The veteran southpaw had the option of becoming a free agent, though doing so would’ve forfeited the roughly $1.7MM stil […]

The Cubs have designated pitcher Yoervis Medina for assignment, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Medina, who turned 27 last week, came to the Cubs in the May deal sending Welington Castillo to the Mariners. The right-hander has tossed a combined 21 innings for the Cubs and Mariners this season, adding up to a 4.71 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in […]

The Cubs announced that they have designated Taylor Teagarden for assignment. In a related move, left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa. The 31-year-old Teagarden hit .303/.403/.579 in 211 plate appearances with the Mets’ hitter-friendly Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season. This season, he has slashed .294/.375/.43 […]

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league. The Mets have signed pitcher Tim Stauffer to a minor league contract, according to the MLB transactions page. Stauffer was released by the Twins earlier this summer and signed with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in mid-July. He posted a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings with the Twins. Over a 590 inning major le […]

The Rockies have designated reliever Aaron Laffey for assignment, tweets Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The transaction was part of a series of moves that allowed the club to recall Christian Bergman, Scott Oberg, and Kyle Parker. Pitcher Kyle Kendrick and outfielder Corey Dickerson were placed on the disabled list. The Rockies also designated Laffey o […]